Seventh Day Of Detention! Freedom For Gianfranco Castellotti! [ENG/ITA]

A week has passed since comrade Gianfranco Castellotti was deprived of his liberty and detained in a police station in Istanbul.

Gianfranco was arrested in the morning of Thursday October 4th following a raid by the Turkish special forces against the Idil Cultural Centre, where he was as an International Observer at the trial of the musicians, members of Grup Yorum.

On Monday, October 8th, five of the people arrested with Gianfranco were sent to prison and two were released.

On the contrary, he is always detained in the police station.

We know that no charges have been brought against him, but we are not yet aware of what the Turkish police are going to do with Gianfranco.

According to Turkish lawyers and the Italian consulate in Istanbul, the comrade will be expelled to Italy, but the only certain thing is that until now he has been deprived of his freedom in a country like Turkey, where the law is summed up in a single man.

No one can guarantee that the Turkish authorities will keep their word.

As from the first day of his arrest, we ask the Italian authorities, as those responsible for his health and physical integrity, to do everything possible to obtain the freedom of the comrade as soon as possible.

Yesterday one of our militants was able to speak with him through the Italian vice-consul in Istanbul. She found him awake and lucid, as evidenced by the tone of his voice.

Gianfranco wanted to reassure everyone about his current situation and is convinced that everything will be resolved in a few days, adding that he is not alone, even if he has not specified the number and nationality of those who are detained in the police station with him.
Gianfranco is firmly opposed to the expulsion decree that would prevent him from returning to Turkey, but the matter can be examined with the Turkish and Italian lawyers, to verify the possibility that this decree may be temporary and not definitive.

We want to remember the enormous wave of solidarity that has risen from every part of Italy, but also from every part of the world, in favor of Gianfranco, a living solidarity, total, which testifies that in the world there are still living and active forces, and also that his personal and political skills, as well as his commitment to solidarity and internationalism, have made him known everywhere.

We also want to thank the Democratic Jurists who, with their help and dedication, are making a significant contribution to the positive solution of the case of comrade Gianfranco.